French consortium to refurbish principal hydroelectric plant

As Haiti continues to rebuild after the 2010 earthquake wrecked most of its infrastructure, the Haitian government has signed a contract with a French consortium, Alstom-Comelex, to restore the Péligre hydroelectric plant, the country's principal renewable energy source.

The Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the German development finance agency KfW, and OFID, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries' fund for international development, are financing the three-year, US$48.8-million rehabilitation contract, the IDB said in a statement.

The IDB said the contract was signed on Friday by Public Works Minister Jacques Rousseau, Finance Minister André Georges, the director general of the state utility, Electricité d'Haïti, and two Alstom-Comelex managers at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance.

Under the project, Péligre will recover its original 54-megawatt-installed generation capacity by overhauling its three turbines and modernising its electromechanical equipment and control systems.

Reliance on thermal generators

At present, the IDB said the 40-year-old plant operates at a fraction of its potential, forcing Haiti to rely on thermal generators that run on expensive imported fossil fuels.

At the same time, as it restores Péligre's generation capacity, the IDB said Electricité d'Haïti will carry out investments to upgrade the power transmission line connecting the hydroelectric plant with Port-au-Prince, as well the capital's electricity distribution network.

The IDB said it is supporting such investments with grants totalling US$32 million.

In addition, in partnership with the World Bank and USAID, the IDB said it is supporting a programme to modernise Electricité d'Haïti's technical, financial and commercial management.

The IDB said it is Haiti's leading multilateral donor. Since the 2010 earthquake, it said it has approved US$442 million in new grants and disbursed more than US$355 million to support reconstruction and long-term development projects in key sectors, such as energy, education, water and sanitation, agriculture, transport and private-sector development.

- CMC